The Rio Open chief Luiz Carvalho commented on Rafael Nadal and Roger” federer> joining the Player Council back. They will co-operate with Novak Djokovic who is the President of the Council. “It’s great to have those two guys back in the politics and management of the Tour.

They are like Bill Gates and Larry Ellison of business”, said Carvalho. “They probably have different opinions, disagrements are good because discussions can start. I wish I could attend those meetings to see what the players speak about!” Carvalho is one of the youngest tournament directors on Tour being under 40 years old.

He is from Brazil, and he already runs three events. He said: “I started in Rio six years ago. Then the opportunity came up in China and we have a really good team. An unbelievable job is made by people there. It has been a really nice ride.

I experience new things and I work hard to make those events get successful. Those are very important tournaments for IMG.” Carvalho said that he is trying to bring Alexander Zverev in the 2020 Rio Open: “Alex would perfectly fit in Rio, he has the right personality, a cool guy. Alex is one of my top picks for next year.”